Black and White Photography Refined
© Kai McBride
ONLINE COURSE

Black and White Photography Refined

Interested in this class? Email us and we'll notify you next time it runs.

Have you admired the lyrical black and white work of other photographers and wondered how you could bring those dramatic qualities to your own images? In this class, students will learn how monochromatic images can be refined to express deeper meaning. Go beyond thinking of black and white as just a digital filter, and explore how tonal range, balance, and contrast affects the mood, emotion, and meaning of an image. We’ll explore how black and white allows for radically different tonal interpretations of the same photograph, and how that can alter our perception of the subject matter. Through analysis and discussion of both contemporary photography and student work, we’ll examine the character of black and white vs. color. We’ll also dive into technical considerations (exposure, processing, workflow) and work with the powerful tools available in Adobe Lightroom Classic to make purposeful conversions that are superior to the flat, desaturated images that are produced by default. Through weekly assignments and shooting exercises, students will expand their understanding of the language of black and white photography and apply the lessons with certainty to their own work.

 

Please note: A camera capable of RAW captures and an editing program (Lightroom, Photoshop, Silver Efex Pro, etc) for B&W conversion and image manipulation.
 
Today, sadly, is the last of Kai’s B&W class — it has been great and he’s an excellent teacher. I rejuvenated some of my Photoshop skills which have been dormant and learned a lot.
—Lisa (New York)
Thanks, Kai! The class was an enormous learning experience for me. The arc of my understanding between weeks one and four amazed me. I thank you for sharing your encyclopedic knowledge and your methods and I hope we have the chance to experience another class together soon. I can’t wait to get back in the studio to cut and paste. 
—Fran (New York City)


Kai McBride
Kai McBride

Kai McBride is a photographer, musician, teacher, and avid cyclist who recently uprooted from Brooklyn to sunny Santa Fe, New Mexico. He spent the last ten years teaching photography and managing the photo facilities at Columbia University, his alma mater, where he received an MFA in 2008.

Born on the island of Kauai in 1972, by his 18th birthday Kai had lived in California, Oregon, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Texas, Oahu, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. He sharpened his powers of observation while adjusting to life between suburban ranch-style homes, cabins with no running water, and a 20-foot teepee in the field of a commune.

His photographs have been exhibited in museum and gallery exhibitions, and are held in public and private collections. His first monograph, About Face: Picturing Tampa, was published by SPQR Editions in Fall 2016.

Kai teaches black and white photography, photobooks, and more for StrudelmediaLive.